Facebook To Launch New Watch Video Platform

Facebook has officially moved into the video streaming space, announcing the impending launch of its new “Watch” video platform.

The social network’s director of product Daniel Danker says that “watching video on Facebook has the incredible power to connect people, spark conversation, and foster community. On Facebook, videos are discovered through friends and bring communities together. As more and more people enjoy this experience, we’ve learned that people like the serendipity of discovering videos in News Feed, but they also want a dedicated place they can go to watch videos.”

“That’s why last year we launched the Video tab in the U.S., which offered a predictable place to find videos on Facebook. Now we want to make it even easier to catch up with shows you love.”

Now, they’re following it up with Facebook Watch.

Danker says the new platform will be available on mobile, on desktop and laptop, and in our TV apps.

“Shows are made up of episodes — live or recorded — and follow a theme or storyline. To help you keep up with the shows you follow, Watch has a Watchlist so you never miss out on the latest episodes.”

“We’ll be introducing Watch to a limited group of people in the U.S. and plan to bring the experience to more people soon. Similarly, we’ll be opening up Shows to a limited group of creators and plan to roll out to all soon”, Danker said.

At launch, the service will boast a handful of original series including Nas Daily, Gabby Bernstein, Kitchen Little and Returning The Favour.

Dank says Watch will be home to a wide range of shows, “from reality to comedy to live sports.”

“To help inspire creators and seed the ecosystem, we’ve also funded some shows that are examples of community-oriented and episodic video series,” he says.

Facebook also has signed a deal with Major League Baseball that will allow Watch to broadcast one live game each week.